Can eating peaches harm a cow?

[dexterfarm]

no experience with it. Were they old enough to ferment. I have had goats get drunk eating old apples. I think peaches do contain a small amout of cyanide. If they swallowed the pits I can see them clogging up in the omasum.

[lakeportfarms]

Gene,

We don't have peaches, but we have LOTS of apples and pears. We had a case several years ago where a neighbor had dumped quite a few apples over the fence, and the cows gorged on them. They were not fermented, but the abundance of apples upset a couple of the cows' rumen chemistry. (edited to add) Of course they were gorging on the apples in our orchard the entire time before that.  They were our older cows and probably less able to handle the toxicity and probably the sugar from the apples. They basically O.D'd on them.  Their rumens were packed full!

The vet had us give them Banamine every day, about 5cc and if the condition wasn't stabilized with that, then Dexamethasone was going to be necessary. The Dex could cause a loss of the fetus, so it was a last resort since the cows were bred. It took several days for them to start to feel better and get up and move around again. Both cows were down for a couple of days and took a lot of effort to get them up to move around. They both made full recoveries and calved on schedule.

[wvdexters]

I don't have any experience with peaches. But plums seem to be OK. Our girls cleaned up under the plum tree in the field this season. They got the "drop offs".

[ian]

Hi All

I have a neighbour with a peach tree that overhangs a fence and my cows eat the fallen fruit with no ill effects.
I also had a cow in North Queensland that ate Mangoes (and would spit out the seeds) and she would kill for Jack Fruit, she ate a 10kg Jack Fruit at one go with no ill effects.

Ian

[Gorignak]

Okay...you asked.
There is a hillbilly saying....He was tremblin' like a man sh***ing a peach pit. I almost didn't recover the first time I heard that offhanded in "casual, hillbilly" conversation.

BUT....STOP....NO....No peach pits....look up cyanide.Google "PEACH PIT CYANIDE" I thought anyone over 3 years old knew that one...At least in Clarksville, AR....home of the Elberta Peach, everyone knows it.

I'm not making light of the danger.....it is real

voices.yahoo.com/the-unknown-danger-peach-pits-poison-3799134.html

[cddexter]

peach kernels are often added to home-canned peaches to add a slightly astringent flavor. Peach pits, like plum pits, have a hard outer coating. My cows used to eat prune plums with no ill effect, and we have a red-leafed tree called the Japanese plum that has small round plums and the cows eat those by the bushel with no ill effect. never tried peaches, don't grow well here. Mike, do you know if the whole pit is also toxic? I thought it was just the kernel. Cows don't crush the pit like a horse might, they swallow it whole. Might be a problem sh***ing, tho.

[marion]

Cows can founder just like horses. Fruit which would be a fine feed if introduced gradually, can be a totally different matter when gorged on especially fruit that is already overripe.marion

[Gorignak]

We are in the heart of peach country. I guess it wasn't 18 months after moving here that I was made aware of the local legends of peach pit poisonings...it was probably hogs....they would crush the pits. Being as there are dozens of very different varieties, and much variation in pit size, there may be a difference in toxicity and/or ease of cracking.

The link I posted was not the best....there is no problem with cultivated almonds....I'd be dead. I eat a half cup a day in my yogurt. The precursor almonds, the origin types may have some of the toxicity.

It really is a case of, "....if the thunder don't get you, the lightning will." EVERYONE needs to stifle their impulse to .....feed it to the cows......feed it to the pigs......feed it to the chickens. The internet/Google affords us all an incredible opportunity to "vet" our decision first.

Another observation that plays to a much larger problem and audience. While the social interaction and friendly experience swapping is enjoyed by all....a lot of these questions should be handled on a "Learn to raise a cow(any cow)" forum. I am actually resisting most impulse to ask a question, or make a comment that is a "GENERAL" husbandry question. This forum would be better served, and the breed would be better served if all (finger pointed at me the past year) were better armed with general knowledge of bovine physiology and psychology. Better resources for that information is forums serving folks with 100-1000 head of cattle. Without any singling out, I find a personal question to any one of several forum members who have LARGE herds is the best way to acquire concise accurate information. The forum banter often serves to obscure accuracy.

DON'T FEED YOU LIVESTOCK PEACH PITS...... And, the caveat should probably extend to exercising moderation when introducing any new food. We are lucky...my daughters experience and knowledge base with Flemish Giant Rabbits was invaluable. The rabbits don't have a rumen....BUT....they are intimately and inextricably interconnected with bacterial digestion....Rabbits, like cows, are just a living cellulose processor, working symbiotically with gut bacteria.

[lakeportfarms]

Mike,

www.cattletoday.com

Have at it and have fun!